Charting a New Course in Talent Acquisition for CSU’s Fundraising Drive with Duffy Group’s Expertise

Charting a New Course in Talent Acquisition for CSU’s
Fundraising Drive with Duffy Group’s Expertise

Higher Education Recruitment Case Study

Recognizing Talent Acquisition Initiatives Is the First Step

Colorado State University prioritized fundraising, but high turnover in a vital position within its Department of Development caused it to fall behind other university departments. While CSU was on the hunt to find an Executive Director of Development, they acknowledged that attracting the best talent in a competitive environment was becoming more and more difficult.

The university had previously not focused on developing a talent acquisition strategy and enticing candidates to relocate to Fort Collins, Colorado, had been a tall hurdle. Addressing the high turnover in this position and enhancing the culture became increasingly vital.

Access to passive candidates, those not actively seeking new positions, did not exist in previous searches. Additionally, the university faced limitations in advertising reach, making it nearly impossible to expand their search without the help of a third-party executive recruiting agency.

The Recruitment Challenge

Traditionally, CSU relied on job postings to attract talent for roles at this level, often resulting in limited candidate pools. But the university was hesitant to use traditional higher education recruiting agencies due to concerns about accountability and the ability to deliver expected results within tight timelines.

The Strategy

Fortunately, CSU was introduced to Duffy Group, a partnership that proved successful due to Duffy Group’s non-traditional, transparent and unique business model. Duffy Recruitment Research™ seeks qualified candidates using multiple recruiting techniques, providing detailed recruiting reports and proven results.

Their strategy involved quickly implementing an innovative, multifaceted approach that leveraged several recruiting tools, industry networks, research on regional targets and targeted sourcing techniques. Developing integrated solutions tailored to CSU’s needs, Duffy Group successfully identified qualified fundraising professionals who demonstrated the experience and cultural fit suitable for the challenging environment.

The Duffy Difference

Just two weeks into the search, Duffy Group had already identified 166 higher education fundraising professionals. They personalized their outreach, highlighting the unique value of the opportunity, which successfully engaged passive candidates and increased the competitiveness of the candidate pool.

Moreover, the research conducted during this process created a future-ready pipeline of candidates, offering CSU access to compensation figures and market data that were previously unavailable.

It was a whole new ballgame in fundraising at CSU, achieved without the high fees often associated with recruiting services that do not bear fruit. The ROI was both quantifiable and qualitatively successful, positively impacting the organization’s bottom line.

The Informed Way with Duffy Recruitment Research™

Unlike contingent search’s quantity over quality approach, and retained search’s costlier upfront fees, Duffy Recruitment Research™ is a customized, research-driven recruitment strategy that delivers a short list of interested qualified candidates and market data for smarter hiring strategies. It’s insightful, cost-effective and future proof. Ready to make the informed choice in hiring?